


Ninjago: If They Were Cats

by Blizzard_IceDragon



Series: Ninjago ITWC [1]
Category: Lego Ninjago
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-11-03
Updated: 2020-11-04
Packaged: 2021-03-08 21:21:53
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 6
Words: 10,135
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27363445
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Blizzard_IceDragon/pseuds/Blizzard_IceDragon
Summary: Kai and his sister Nya's friend, Jay, are thrown into a complicated new adventure when Nya suddenly disappears one night, which leaves a scent trail of rotten bones into the forest. On the way to rescue Nya, Kai and Jay meet dangers outside the alleys and junkyards they grew up knowing, and end up making new friends and enemies. Lots of secrets await for the two tomcats to uncover...Such as, who is the Eye of the Evil?What do skeleton cats or Nya have to do with this Eye?And what does the legendary First Master have to do with the Eye?
Relationships: Nya/Jay Walker
Series: Ninjago ITWC [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1998616
Comments: 9
Kudos: 6





	1. Eye of the Evil

**Author's Note:**

> Last names do not apply to the cats in this story, as these are CATS, not humans. (This also goes for the Nindroids.)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello! For those of you who can't read my story on Wattpad and/or prefer not to go to Wattpad, here's my story Ninjago: If They Were Cats! Don't worry, this story isn't dead for any reason whatsoever. (I already have a lot of PHYSICAL COPY drafts for it too haha.)  
> So without further ado, I'll get on with the chapter -

"Nya?!" A yowl split the silence in the night air. "Nya!"

Kai felt he'd been searching for _ages_. Nya had mysteriously disappeared from her usual sleeping spot, across from Kai in their alley, but the only trace of her disappearance was the scent of her fear and a trail of rotting bones.

At first, Kai had suspected the alley cats had taken Nya, but after threatening everyone, his efforts had led him nowhere closer.

So he just decided to follow the scent trail of rotten bones.

Kai walked along the trail with a bushed, swishing tail, growling at every flash of blue, green, or yellow from within the shadows alongside the path the trail led through. Familiar alleyways and red brick walls came into Kai's night vision, making him suddenly realize that all his past suspicions about Nya were true.

_Jay._

Kai growled at the thought of the hyperactive soft-gray tom. He knew that it _had_ to be Jay. Spending most of his time seeming like he was mooning over Nya, catching her in his trap, then when she least expected it, he would kidnap her and kill her. Everything clicked together in Kai's mind. Of course it made sense. 

_That filthy junkyard cat. He probably took Nya, and is probably trying to kill_ my defenselesssister _now! He must have dipped himself in something stinky so I - or Nya - wouldn't recognize his scent.  
_

 _But I haven't been blind to his secret side all along. He'll_ never _know what's coming for him._

Kai sped up his pace, not even paying attention to the bone trail anymore. He let his paws lead him to the junkyard Jay lived in, and his quickly building anger give him the energy to keep running.

Eventually Kai got to a wide area a little away from the alleyways and red brick houses he knew, and continued to sprint along a wide path of pebbles to the city junkyard ahead.

He wrinkled his nose at the intense smell of oil and rusty metal from the large, fenced-in expanse of wasteland. Tall mounds of bright silver and rusty brown were scattered all over the place; some mounds were dotted with bits of black, some with dull gray, some even with pink. Bits of splintered wood surrounded each mound of metallic junk; each mound was surrounded with a different color of wood splinters. Kai knew Jay used the wooden splinters to mark each mound. Each color meant something different: red meant there were dangerous sharp items in the pile, orange meant flammable objects, purple meant Tall-Legs' cloth, and blue - Jay's and Nya's favorite color - marked piles containing Jay's favorite objects or pieces of scrap.

An old, rotting, dilapidated shed stood on the far right side of the yard, within the silver-and-dark-green wire fence. As Kai approached the shed, he noticed a pile of dusty gray pieces of metal and rocks sitting on the left side of the old building. 

Kai slowed to a halt, his heart racing faster than ever. That pile of rocks and metal were sitting on top of Jay's den!

To confirm things even more, the now irksome smell of rotten bones lingered strongly around this area. Kai didn't see Jay, but he knew the gray tom had trapped Nya in his den and piled rocks and metal at the entrance so she couldn't get out.

"Alright, Jay. Show yourself," Kai growled, unsheathing his claws and getting into a battle stance. "You can't hide Nya or your hidden side from me. I know the truth! Uncover that pile, and FREE MY SISTER!"

Kai heard scrabbling from below the rocks, along with muffled noises. _Nya!_ "Nya, I'm coming!" Kai yowled, digging at the rock pile, ignoring the sharp pain that stabbed at his paws as he dug and the ever-growing cloud of dust surrounding the den site.

"Nya - " Kai paused as the dust around him cleared. He smelled Jay's scent, coming from inside. He bushed his fur out. "Don't you dare!"

Jay emerged, his entire pelt covered in bloody scratches and wounds. His jay-blue eyes were dull and exhausted, most likely from pain. He was panting laboriously, and looked absolutely shaken. His long tail was a torn mess, several of his claws torn from all his paws, and on top of that his right ear was torn down the middle and outright leaking red.

Kai reeled. " _Jay?!_ Where's Nya?"

Jay blinked in surprise. "What? Kai?! What do you mean, 'where's Nya?' Isn't she with you?"

Kai stopped for a moment. Jay's expression looked absolutely truthful. _I was wrong?_ He sniffed the air around him. Sure, there was fear-scent here, but it wasn't Nya's... 

...it was Jay's.

"Wait, so - ?" Kai tipped his head, sheathing his claws. His mind was bouncing in all directions. "What is going on? And if you didn't take Nya - "

"Hold on, NYA'S MISSING?!?!" Jay suddenly screeched, making Kai flatten his stinging ears. Jay pressed his torn muzzle closer to Kai's. "And you didn't TELL ME EARLIER?!?!"

"So you didn't take Nya?" Kai asked him, bewildered. "What?!"

"Why would I ever kidnap her?" Jay's eyes widened with new energy. "I would never do that to her! You of all cats should know that well!"

Kai took another whiff of the air as Jay flopped down to the floor with a grunt, panting even harder. Kai smelled more rotten bones... Jay was _reeking_ of the stuff. 

Did he... _fight_ whatever produced the bony scent?

"Jay, " Kai asked, digging his claws into the ground, "what in the name of the First Master _happened here?!_ "

"I was fighting bones -"

"How do you fight _bones?_ " Kai pressed.

"I don't know, I don't know!" Jay protested, flinching as he flattened his ears and blood dripped from them to the floor. "They looked like cats made of bones, and reeked of this horrible scent -" He paused, sniffing the air. "Oh no, do I smell -"

"YES YOU SMELL OF BONES," Kai growled through clenched teeth impatiently. _So the bone cats give off the rotten scent._ "Just get to the point!"

"Okay, okay," Jay said, backing off. "These bone cats shredded the life out of me, and threw me into my den, growling a warning before blocking off the entrance..." Jay started hacking and collapsed onto the ground.

"Jay!" Kai yowled, crouching down as Jay fell. "What did they say?"

"I - *cough* - I think they - *cough* - they said - *hack* - "

"What?" Kai pressed. He smacked his tail down on Jay's back to stop his coughing. " _What did they say?"_

"They said -" Jay paused, his eyes filling with horror as he recalled the words. "They said, 'Beware, for we have watched you...

"'...with the Eye of the Evil.'"


	2. Trail of Bones

Kai and Jay painstakingly picked their way out of the junkyard and along the stinky trail smelling of rotten bones. Wherever it led there were always flattened pathways and destruction nearby, the telltale scent lingering over the evidence like an ominous storm cloud. 

Kai could never shake the feeling of dread over what could've happened to Nya in the time he'd lost searching in the junkyard. _Those bone cats could've torn her fur out, dragged her through sharp rock paths, scarred her face..._ Kai unconsciously touched the scar on his face, which ran over his left eye, with one flame-orange paw. _I don't want her to become scarred like me.  
_

"Ow!" Jay winced as he set a hind paw down. "I give up!" He sat back on his haunches, his eyes glazed in pain and defeat.

Kai narrowed his eyes at him. "You're going to give up on finding Nya?" He questioned, adding a tone of menace in his voice. Whether he liked it or not he was going to keep Jay alive... for Nya's sake. 

"No, no, no, not that!" Jay explained rapidly, shaking his head. Droplets of blood sprayed all over the place. "My entire body is burning from the blows those bone cats dealt on me. I give up on walking." He made a pouty face. 

Kai groaned, closing his eyes and shaking his head. "Don't tell me... we are _not_ doing this. Fend for yourself." The flame-colored tom flicked his tail dismissively and walked away along the path.

The next moment Kai found himself grumbling as he carried Jay on his back, the gray tom's claws digging into Kai's pelt to keep himself on the back. In order to move around Kai had to "bumble walk," moving two paws on one side at a time, left-right-left-right. Kai always felt that Jay enjoyed this, but Kai absolutely _hated_ it. Jay just gets to relax ad dig his _sharp claws_ into Kai's _fur_ while Kai carries a _burden_ on his back and had to move at a _slower pace._ GRRRRRR.

"Don't you know," Kai growled, gritting his teeth tightly, "how _excruciatingly annoying_ this is?!"

"Wow, it is? Hmm, I wonder, how are you faring down there?" Jay replied sarcastically. "I'm just hanging!"

Kai could've _sworn_ Jay was grinning from ear to bloody ear.

The two carried on following the bone trail, only stopping if they got hungry, got thirsty, nature called, or Kai tired out from bumble walking and had to stop for a while. He managed to keep it up until sunset, when they had to stop and make camp and call it a day.

Kai returned to their makeshift sleeping spot, under a small rock overhang teeming with moss and lichen, and dropped a catch of two mice and a crow at Jay's paws. Together the two toms devoured the prey clean, properly disposed of the bones and used some of the crow feathers in their nests, let nature call, and promptly curled up in their nests. Within minutes Kai fell asleep.

A loud _THUMP_ woke him up. Kai flared his eyes open, trying to locate the origin of the sound. He looked around, snorting in disbelief at Jay's tail thumping against the floor, next to where Kai's head lay.

"Fur and feathers," Kai grumbled, curling up again in his nest, this time with his head away from Jay and his tail.

_THUMP._

Kai jumped out of his nest, his pelt bristling. He whipped his head around towards Jay, who was still sound asleep. He wasn't moving a single limb this time; the only thing moving that was his was an injured chest, rising and falling in rhythm as he inhaled and exhaled softly.

"Jay, I _know_ that's you," Kai scoffed, lashing his bushed tail. "If you -"

_THUMP._

Kai froze. That wasn't Jay. In fact, said cat woke up at that moment, murmuring, "Wossat? Wossatnoise?"

_Uh-oh._ A chill ran down Kai's spine, only to melt with a fiery surge of anger. He unsheathed his claws.

"Alright, who's there?" He yowled confidently, sticking his head out from under the meager shelter of the overhang. He let his pupils expand to soak in all the light available. Around him only the shadows of trees and giant boulders disrupted the smooth flow of moonlight from sky to earth. A faint breeze blew through the treetops.

And then Kai scented it.

The putrid smell of rotten bones.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Whooo what danger they're in now! That's another draft taken care of and out of the way. I still have... *decides to be Zane for two minutes and counts all the pages of drafts* precisely 40 more pages of drafts to get through and type on Wattpad for this story. 
> 
> And no, I'm not counting the pages of drafts for the Old Draft that will (probably) never be used again. 
> 
> Until two more pages are cleared, cya and peace out!


	3. Dead of Night

The warning hiss, followed by a wave of rotten breath, launched Kai and Jay into a fierce battle. Pale bones flashed through the woods, claws slashed through the eerie air. Kai knew Jay needed his wounds to heal after his previous battle with the skeleton cats, but there were too many of the putrid-smelling enemies already starting to tighten in a circle around him to take out on his own and reach Jay.

Skeletal claws dug into Kai's fiery fur, tearing chunks out of his pelt and leaving the vulnerable skin underneath exposed to the attackers. Kai thrust out his paws, twisted, ducked blows, did everything he could to get himself out of the tight spot he was in, but no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't shake the bony cats off of him. 

Pain surged through his body as one of the bony claws slashed at Kai's face, digging into his scar. Kai roared in anger, the sheer volume of his roar making the skeletons take a step back, allowing him to lash out his claws and break free of the tight circle.

Finally Kai was able to reach Jay. He was being torn apart - quite literally. Blood was pooling beneath his stained messy pelt and unstable legs. As he collapsed, Kai rushed over to the weak tom and fought off the skeletons around him, bringing his thoughts of Nya to the front of his mind to help fuel his energy. Kai started to insult the "vile bone piles," "rotten cat-nappers," "skeletal nuisances," and whatever other names he could come up with as his paws struck faster and faster with each blow. 

In a whirlwind the battle was over. The skeletons retreated, their leader flashing a final glare at Kai. "This isn't the last you'll see of my Skulkins," the leader hissed, melting into the darkness. A clatter of bones, then silence.

Now that the threat had passed, the only sound left in the battlefield was Jay's coughing. Kai turned to his companion. He couldn't help but shrink in horror at the amounts of red pouring from his pelt. Every scar from before seemed deeper; painted with a deeper shade of red. Anything that had attempted to heal before was torn right open again, and almost no gray could be seen over the shades of red. Jay's blue eyes were dull, and he was coughing up blood.

Kai may _hate_ Jay, but he didn't want _this_ to happen to him. Never in a million lifetimes would he wish this on anyone but whoever did this to him. 

A liquid trickled down Kai's face and dripped onto his left paw. He ignored the pain on the left side of his face and focused on Jay.

"Come on, Jay," Kai growled, a little terrified. Jay's eyes were fixed on Kai in awe. His breath was coming in short gasps.

"...Kai?..." His voice was barely a whisper. "What... what was that...what happened...Kai?"

"Stay here," Kai instructed, struggling to tear his gaze away from the dying cat. "I'm going to get help."

_That's not your friend, Kai._

_That doesn't matter! Someone's dying! You have to find help!_

_But it's_ Jay. _You've always thought of him as a threat to Nya. Untrustworthy junkyard cat._

_He can't just die like this! He didn't hurt Nya! He wanted to help you!_

_He should die._

_No! He's depending on you! You're his friend now! You're all he has left if he wants to survive!_

"Whoa, is something wrong?" A new voice asked, slicing into Kai's thoughts. "Better watch where you're going."

"Urgh..." Kai shook himself and looked up. A muscular brown tom stood in front of him, his long tail flicking back and forth. _Long tail..._ A confused but calm expression sat upon the tom's face, highlighted by amber eyes that shone with just a flicker of worry.

_I can't believe I'm doing this._ "Hi," Kai started, shuffling his paws. _Jay! Don't forget Jay!_ "My, uh, friend needs help. I was wondering if you could help?"

The new cat cocked his head sideways. "How bad?"

Kai gulped. _First Master..._ "He's... dying."

The tom's eyes widened. "Why didn't you say so?" He immediately assumed a ready stance. Man, that cat looked sturdy. "Show me!"

Kai at first hesitated, until he heard Nya's voice in his head. 

_Kai, come on! Help me get Jay out of here! I know you don't like him, but would you like him to_ die, _bonehead?_

Kai jerked himself awake and whipped around, leading the new cat towards the dying bluebird.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If any of you think this is a bit short, that's because I cut out most of the excess stuff I wrote in the original draft of this chapter. Most of it just stalled the story (and kinda allowed Jay to die a little bit more O~O), and it really just wasn't needed. 
> 
> I managed to spit out this chapter in the nick of time for me, because I'm really HYPED to publish the next one already! I have half of this book drafted out and kinda wish I have it all out already, but edits have to be made to my drafts, so...
> 
> Anyways, until the next chapter, cya and peace out!


	4. Leaf of Stars

Kai and the earth-pelted cat raced through the forest, Kai's mind racing with mixed emotions. 

_Why are you helping Jay? And bringing a STRANGER, if anyone, close to him!_

_He's dying! He needs help! If he dies Nya will KILL me!_

Soon Kai and the tom made it to a lump of torn, gasping, bleeding, but awake gray fur.

"There!" Kai panted, wincing as his scar sent a wave of pain through his body. "The product of a skeleton-cat attack! Help him!"

The tom narrowed his eyes. "Skeleton cats, eh..." He gritted his teeth, then turned away from Jay.

Kai almost exploded. "What?! You're just going to walk away?! I asked for help!!!"

"I'm getting help!" The cat growled between gnashed teeth, quickly pacing towards an old log covered in webs. He pawed a few off, then turned to a short plant and tore off some of its leaves, letting the juice drip from his jaws. He raced back, stuffing the webs and leaves into the worst of the wounds. "Well?" He turned back to Kai. "Don't just stand there, help me!"

Kai jumped, then turned in the opposite direction and searched for spiderwebs and short plants like the ones the tom tore off. He could find only the plants but it would have to do. The flame-pelted tom turned back, stuffing the leaves into Jay's pelt.

Once they had turned Jay's pelt green and silver, Kai and the cat sat back, waiting for something to happen. Kai was pretty sure it would end in Jay dying, but he still decided to try. 

"What are we waiting for?" Kai hissed to the tom through gritted teeth. "Why are we just sitting there?"

"You'll see," the tom whispered back, his gaze intently directed on the dying cat.

As if the tom had called for it, a shimmer of silver stars whirled in front of Kai and the tom, and took the shape of a long-furred, white-silver cat. Kai crept closer to the cat. He couldn't believe his eyes. Who was this cat? What's with the stars? Why could he SEE JAY through the cat's pelt?

Long fluffy ears perked up, and the cat turned their head back at Kai and the other tom to reveal an old, wise face with warm amber eyes.

"Strongest stone has discovered fire and lightning," the old cat whispered, revealing himself to be a tom. He turned back to Jay, and a second shimmer of stars swirled into the shape of a leaf. 

"Lightning is in trouble..." The old cat murmured, and took the leaf in his jaws. Kai and the brown tom took their places on each side of the virtual constellation, and watched as the leaf was placed gently on top of Jay's pelt. Jay shuddered and gasped, and fell silent, his dull eyes glazing over.

"NO!" Kai and the tom yowled simultaneously, and Kai dug his claws into the ground. He whipped his head around at the old cat. "Did you just KILL him?!"

The old cat shot Kai a deep glare. "You must be patient, fire," he hissed, raising a paw to swivel Kai's head back towards Jay. The paw felt soft yet misty, as if Kai were dreaming it and it weren't there.

Kai watched as the leaf's stars spread across Jay's pelt, glowing a blue the same shade as his eyes. He stared in awe as the dead cat's pelt glowed blue, the blood seeming to just disappear in front of his eyes, and the injuries all over Jay's pelt mended back together and cleaned itself. Well, except for one on his ear. It was shaped like a lightning bolt, and glowed a pale white against the blue of the rest of his healing pelt.

Jay suddenly erupted into gasps, and the leaf and blue glow disappeared. 

"K-Kai?" Jay coughed, his eyes regaining their jay-blue shade. "Kai, is that you?"

Kai blinked several times, standing his ground. He watched as Jay _stood up without faltering like he was never injured_ , and excitedly crashed into Kai with _sudden force_.

"How the -?" Kai yowled, the wind knocked out of him. He threw a gaze of shock and confusion at the strangers to his right. "What did - what was tha- who are you?!"

The earthen tom looked on in awe. "Master, did you use your spare Leaf of Stars?"

The old cat swished his tail. "It wasn't a spare."

"What -" Kai started, but was interrupted by Jay.

"Thank you so much!" Jay babbled, jumping up and down. "You saved my life! I'm Jay, and this grumpy, _shocked_ tom here is Kai!"

"Well, about time we introduced ourselves, then," said the muscular tom, shaking out his pelt and smoothing his fur. "I'm Cole, and this starry cat is Master Wu."

Wu snorted.

"Oh, uh..." Cole gave a sideways glance at the starry old cat. "He's... a spirit. That's why he looks like something descended from the sky. And he also wants me to tell you," he added after Wu shot him a glance, "that he's one of the sons of the First Master."

"Whoa," Jay gasped, "that's why you look so..." He squinted at Wu. "...uh, old..."

Kai had to agree with Jay. _That's why he's a spirit. He lived so long ago..._

"Aha," Wu grunted, standing himself up, "so these two are fire and lightning. Kai and Bluejay."

"Wait, how did he know -" Jay wondered, tilting his head sideways.

Wu flashed Kai and Jay a toothy grin. "I have my ways."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, so that's it for Chapter 4! More chapters coming soon. I have nothing more to say, so...
> 
> Until the next chapter, cya and peace out!


	5. Prophecy of Power

"Four Weapons of Power await the four Elements of Creation." Master Wu flicked his starry tail from behind his back. "Four Elementals await their Fifth through dra -"

"Excuse me, but is this some sort of prophecy?" Kai interrupted, tilting his head.

Wu shot him a solid glare. "Do not interrupt," he said firmly, then restarted.

"Four Weapons of Power await the four Elements of Creation.

Four Elementals await their Fifth through drastic realization.

Strongest stone discovers Earth in valley with no grass.

Fastest lightning finds his thunder through a barren pass.

Sharpest ice discovers Ice from secrets in the snow.

Wildest flame shall find his Fire seeking friend or foe.

Their Fifth shall rise above them all, enveloped eyes of green,

Will only be revealed when fighting mobs of Serpentine."

" _Serpentine?!_ " Jay exclaimed, his ears perking right up. "But they're only in legends! How do we fight _story characters_ that _aren't even real?_ "

Kai couldn't help but agree. He turned to Wu. "You're a spirit, yes? Then tell us how fighting _Serpentine_ would make sense!" He got up to his paws, his tail bushing out.

Wu gazed at the impatient tom sternly. "Only time can tell you. I am here to guide, not to reveal all of destiny."

Kai huffed and sat back on his haunches. _Stupid time. If only we knew all of it._

"Hey, look on the bright side," Cole chimed, gently placing his white tail-tip on Kai's shoulder. "We know the Weapons' locations."

"Eyyy, nice one there!" Jay squealed, shooting Cole a wide grin. " _Bright_ \- I gotta remember that one!"

Wu sighed. "Even if I didn't actually know by divination that you were lightning, Jay, I would've recognized you anyways. And Kai - every bit like the Fire your father was."

Kai's fur ruffled. "You - you knew my father?" _What? How?_

Wu turned to Cole, changing the subject. "Cole is your leader and we search for Earth first. It will be easier to find the others once you obtain Earth's powers."

_Huh, noted,_ Kai thought, inspecting Cole from nose to tail-tip. Cole did show leadership qualities throughout all of the night before, taking the lead in hunting for leaves and spiderwebs to stuff into Jay's pelt, keeping his expression calm while they waited for Master Wu. _Or Cole's just that old cat's favorite._

"Okay, quick question," Jay queried. "So is Earth, like, a Tall-Leg? Or a cat we need on our side? Or some sort of dog? A - uh - Serpentine we need to fight off? Dragon?"

Cole suddenly stiffened and his eyes widened. His pelt spiked, and his whiskers started trembling. "D-dragon?" His long tail twitched nervously. "D-d-did someone s-say _d-dragon?!_ "

Master Wu rested his stern gaze on Cole. "You must conquer your fears to gain the powers."

"Yes, Master," Cole sighed, dipping his head. His shoulders slumped as Kai remarked, "Hmm, scared of dragons, are we?" _Noted. "Fearless leader" is scared of dragons._

Wu's gaze swiveled to Kai and Jay. "Well, are you in this or not?"

"Yes!" Jay replied immediately with bright blue eyes, jumping up and down like an excited kitten. "This sounds fun! And should -"

"This has everything to do with Nya," Wu answered immediately, his amber eyes fixed on Kai with a knowing look. "There is a reason they took only her and not the both of you - your destinies and these Elements are intertwined, and the answer lies in the Weapons."

"Sure, I guess," Kai growled, swishing his tail across the floor. "I'll do it - for Nya. But no more than that." He returned Wu's glare with one of his own, reported by Nya to look like "green fire blazing into the depths of one's soul." _Huh, sis, well said. This starry cat here called me Fire._

"Very well." Master Wu got to his paws and turned away from Kai, Jay, and Cole.

"Wait, hold on, Master." Cole scrambled to his paws, looking towards the receding old cat. "Aren't you coming with us?"

Wu stopped in his tracks, snorted, and didn't turn back. "First Master's fur, I have my own mission to complete alongside yours."

"You said you would _guide_ us," Cole continued. 

"And that I have done." Wu took a deep breath of forest air. "Now I must hunt."

Kai pouted. "Sure."

Wu flicked his tail. "And then I will regroup the Destiny's Bounty."

"The Destiny's _what?_ " Jay squawked.

"Destiny's Bounty. The group of Elementals before you. Like me. And by locating the Weapons of Power, you will free them and make it possible for me to regroup them."

"Oh." Kai could tell Jay wasn't satisfied with his answer, but he sat down and squirmed silently. He kept silent for once.

Master Wu took five more paces, then stopped abruptly and turned back towards Kai, Cole, and Jay.

"Oh, and one last thing. May I ask you to do me one more favor?"

"Sure thing, Master," Cole replied respectfully at the same time that Jay exclaimed, "Shoot!"

Wu gave Jay a curious glance, then went on with his favor. "If on your journey you happen to meet a cat named Lloyd, bring him with you on your journey; bring him back in one piece once you've finished." His head shook sadly for a brief moment, and he closed his eyes. "Lloyd is my nephew. Over time... we seemed to have lost contact."

Kai understood, but was still skeptical. He was curious of the offer, but was a bit surprised that Wu didn't go find him by himself. Still, he kept quiet for Nya's sake.

"Alright, Master, we'll do our best," Cole replied, taking the offer - it was more of a forced offer - kindly.

"Consider it done!" Jay called with a smile.

Wu dipped his head to the cats, then turned and wandered off into the forest, seeming to disappear into the morning air.

"Well, so we find a few Weapons, find a cat called Lloyd, gather the Destiny's Booty, and come back here. Easy mode!" Jay exclaimed.

Kai and Cole exchanged glances.

"You want me to tell him, or should you do it?" Cole questioned awkwardly.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay WHOOOOOOO I've finished. Man, I had to find a way to stretch this chapter because even the draft was short. Next chapter starts the hunt for the Weapons of Power!
> 
> (If you don't know what that alludes to, the Weapons of Power are the Golden Weapons in Ninjago MOS. The ones the FSM used to create Ninjago.)
> 
> And until next chapter, cya and peace out!


	6. Strongest Stone

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello! I see that people have been reading my stories on AO3 too, which is nice! :)  
> This is the next chapter of ITWC, already published on Wattpad too. I'm already getting more motivation to finish writing all the way to Chapter 25 (as far as my drafts go), but of course I still have to sit down and write more drafts and plan out more of the plot.  
> For readers coming here from Wattpad I say hello! And for readers who didn't come here from Wattpad I express my greetings too!
> 
> Ok I should really get on with the chapter so here we goooo -

"Sooo," Jay started, sounding bored, "where do we find this Earth?"

"If you can remember, Jay," Kai growled impatiently, "we find it in a _valley with no grass_."

"And," Cole added, looking back at the rest of his team, "I know of one such place where we can search for Earth. Whatever that might mean." He turned back to the path they were padding along, pride and courage rising in his chest again.

He was Cole, son of Lou, a housecat who loved his son and family as dearly as he enjoyed living with Tall-Legs. He called them "humans" instead of the name other cats called them, though, and would spend hours arguing with other cats about the "correct term for humans." Cole's mother, on the other paw, was very sweet and loved all things in nature, from the smallest animal to the greatest danger. Besides all that Lilly loved to eat. Cole just assumed he picked that up from her. The only difference between the two of them in terms of food was that Lilly could _actually_ hunt, while Cole really just couldn't. He didn't know why. He just could NOT hunt.

Then Lilly suddenly disappeared, the rumor around the town being that she was taken and killed by a dragon. Lou at first believed she would come back, that she didn't give up and would come back no matter what. She was strong, and both Lou and Cole knew that.

But as time passed Lilly never returned, not even so much as show her face around again. Lou lost hope over time, and eventually he had completely changed. He wasn't kind and benevolent like he used to be; he had turned strict and stern. He tried to turn Cole into a housecat himself, teaching him how to act like one, speak like one...

Cole _hated_ it. Though he did learn many ways humans acted and where they would usually go in their free time and other stuff like that, he hated acting lazy and stupid all the time. He had strength, bravery, and curiosity. And above all that, endurance and determination. If he didn't like it he didn't have to be forced to do it. This was _his_ life, not his father's. _He_ controlled _himself_.

So one night Cole ran from the humans. He was aware that he was leaving his father behind too, but Cole was so desperate to get away and live his own life how he wanted, he could care less about his father. He wanted to feel freedom, and the forest beyond showed him just that.

Cole let his mind wander as his paws unconsciously lead the way. He had been along this path before many times, and could walk back and forth along it with his eyes closed. Besides, sight was never his strong suit, strength and endurance were. If he were blind the whole time it wouldn't have made a difference.

After a long while the trio finally arrived at the spot Cole wanted to look around at. Beyond the cats was a barren, flat, smooth land that could hardly be called a field. Sure, it was a valley, all right, but the surface of the area was smooth and black. A colorful human structure yard (Cole believed the correct term was playground?) stood a few running bounds away from the smooth black surface. Human children were at play there, running around noisily and playing games.

Cole took a pawstep on the warm black surface. The ground felt oddly smooth under his paw pads, but he easily shook off the feeling. Kai and Jay followed, stepping cautiously onto the black surface.

"What even is this stuff?" Jay gasped, lifting a paw. "This is oddly smooth, but it doesn't feel like stone."

"The scent is strange too," Kai grumbled. "And it seems to sink a little under my paws."

"Well it's not as bad as the rotten boneheads' scent, hm?" Cole responded, scanning the valley for any hint of irregularity among the smooth surface. "It's human - er, Tall-Leg stuff. Even grass can't grow in this. That's why I chose this place to search."

Kai's eyes scanned the area. "Don't you think we've come a little too late?"

"No," Cole snorted. "In fact, I'm pretty sure we're too early." He motioned with his tail at the playground and the humans. "They don't go home until it's dark. We can search when the sky turns dark."

"Judging by the color of the sky, nighttime doesn't look too far away," Jay chirped.

He was right. The sky was a purplish-orange color, and a wave of dark water seemed to follow the bright orange sun as it began to dip its head behind the horizon. Twinkling silver embers started to shine through the black veil that was gathering at the east. 

"Dusk is upon us," Cole declared, shifting smoothly and easily into his leader role. "Maybe we should go get us a snack before coming back and searching for Earth?"

"I agree with Cole," Jay exclaimed suddenly. "I'm starving!"

"We barely traveled for thirty minutes," Kai hissed, twitching his whiskers. He turned to Cole. "But I'd like a snack too, if you don't mind."

Cole quickly took a step backward. "Whoa, whoa, whoa, you're looking at the wrong tom for the job," he cautioned. "I'm seriously not the hunter around here."

"Oh come on, Cole. How bad of a hunter can you be?" Jay encouraged. "Surely someone as strong as you should be able to hunt properly!"

"I take back everything I said earlier," Jay grunted as he dragged a skinny bird covered in mud. "You are a horrible hunter."

"Sorry," Cole apologized, shrugging his shoulders. "I tried to warn ya."

"It's a good thing that me and Jay can _actually_ hunt, otherwise we'd be left starving for the rest of the night," Kai retorted, carrying a relatively fat squirrel in his jaws.

"Alright, I apologized, jeez." Cole shook his pelt out as the group returned to the black valley. "We'll eat our fill, then search the area -"

A deep howl filled the air and split the silence of the night, cutting Cole off mid-sentence. He, Jay, and Kai whipped their heads around towards the source of the noise, their pelts on end. Surprisingly, one of the human children - the tallest one out of the group, as it seemed - had their head lifted high up at the moon, the wolf's howl emitting from their open mouth. Cole felt a bit of relief knowing that there wasn't really an actual wolf in the valley, but the howl still left chills running up and down his spine and tail. 

"Wow, that howl actually sounded like a real wolf," Jay whispered.

"You can say that again," Kai whispered back. 

The howl lasted for a long while before the human clambered down from the structure, a group of smaller children at their heels. The one who had howled really was the tallest out of the group; Cole assumed that they were the oldest. 

A spark of wonder lit in his mind while he observed the humans leave. Cole looked up to the bright moon overhead, a small white sliver in the sky against the dark black carpet behind it. He stared at it for a while before a flurry of stars and a strangely familiar scent floated down towards the human playing structures. It seemed to beckon to Cole and Cole only, as neither Kai nor Jay seemed to pick up the scent or notice the star breeze.

"Guys, Earth is over here!" Cole exclaimed, flicking his tail for the others to follow as he bounded quietly toward the playground.

"Cole, wait up!" Jay called after Cole, rushing right behind the brown tom's tail.

"Hey, there's still _humans_ around here!" Kai hissed, but a second set of paws could be heard pounding against the ground behind Jay's lighter steps.

Cole took a flying leap from the edge of the black surface into the flaky pit. _It's filled with tanbark, great,_ he thought as a piece of the bark sunk like a thorn into one of his softer pads. It didn't sink in too deep and wasn't too short either, so it was easy to pull out and continue cautiously through the pit. He turned back to see if his teammates had caught up.

"Ugh, what is this stuff? It stings!" Jay exclaimed as soon as his paws could be heard hitting the tanbark. Another flurry of bark clacking and Jay had sprung back to the black rock, licking his paws vigorously.

"This is why you watch where you're going, nimrod," Kai snorted, slowing to a halt next to Jay on the edge of the rock and sniffing the tanbark pit. He gave his right paw a good lick and placed it gently on the bark. He shrugged and slowly progressed into the pit one paw at a time. Soon the hot-tempered tom had made his way next to Cole, watching Jay practicing excessive self-care on his paws on the other side of the pit.

The tom's jay-blue eyes shifted from his paws to Kai and Cole. "What? It still stings!"

"You've been there since slowpoke here started crossing the pit -" Cole started.

"Hey!" Kai retorted, lashing his tail once.

"- yet you still haven't made any progress," Cole finished, shooting a glance at Kai. "Are we going to waste time or -"

"Actually, I can search around out here while you search in that spikey pit," Jay interrupted. "It's not my fault I don't have hardened pads like you two do."

"Well that might be from living in that junkyard, where the ground is soft and -" Kai started.

"Don't you _dare_ bring up the junkyard," Jay hissed, leaping to his paws at last.

"Hey! You two settle down, we have to find the Weapon of Earth," Cole yowled. Kai and Jay snapped their heads toward Cole and nodded reluctantly, their spiked fur laying flat once more. "Jay, I'll accept your idea and you search outside the tanbark pit. Kai can search with me in here unless he wants to leave and search with Jay." The brown tom nodded at each cat as he gave out their directions. "I'll stay in here and search. Yowl if you find anything strange, even if it's a scent. We don't want anything like what happened to you just then happen again, Jay."

With a swift nod Jay was off, probing his muzzle along the ground wherever he went. Kai sidestepped towards one section of the playground away from Cole, grumbling as he went.

Cole shrugged and placed one paw on the flat, smooth structure next to him. He rested another paw on the surface, then hoisted his back paws up. Looking up along the same surface, it was a steady uphill slope. He took four big pawsteps and immediately started sliding back down the structure. He unsheathed his claws and tried to grasp onto the surface, but all they did was make a loud scraping noise as he fell back down on his rear where he started.

"Everything alright over there?" Jay called from a distance. "I heard a loud scraping noise!" Cole swung his muzzle around to see the soft gray tom standing a few pawsteps from the edge of the black rock.

"Yeah, I'm alright," Cole answered. "I just slipped, nothing too big."

"Thanks for not dying," Kai called sarcastically from the other side of the playground.

Cole sighed and shook his head as he watched Jay and Kai go back to searching. The brown tom swiveled his head back to the slippery slope awaiting him, unsheathing his claws and bunching his muscles in a crouch. 

With his hind legs he pushed himself off the ground in a flying leap and dug his claws along the sides of the structure, which were ridged and _so much_ _easier_ to grab a hold on. Sticking his tail straight out for balance, Cole sheathed his claws and pushed off the surface again, unsheathing his claws in midair and digging them back on the ridges as he made the next stretch. He made two more bounds and comfortably landed at the top of the slippery path, feeling accomplished.

Cole relaxed and sheathed his claws. He felt air passing through under his pads and looked below him. On the ground below him small holes were littered all over the place in strange arrays. They were pretty big, but not big enough that one of Cole's massive, strong paws could get stuck in one or fall through. Even if they were, the spaces between the holes were wide enough anyway so Cole wouldn't have to keep walking over hole after hole after hole.

He clambered up a flight of stairs ( _How do I still remember all of these human names for things?_ ) and looked around, scanning the playground for a higher point to climb onto and get a bird's eye view. _Aha!_ He found, rather coincidentally, a bright reddish roof not too far away from him and the slippery structure. He looked to either side of him. There just happened to be thin, straight walls lining the outside of the structure he currently stood on, all conveniently covered with the small holes.

Cole easily shimmied up one wall and balanced himself on the thin edge at the top. Paw after paw he carefully tiptoed along the solid line laid out in front of him until he reached a pole. He unsheathed his claws and placed one paw on the pole, grasping it tightly. It was a little big for his paw, but it would have to do. He took his other front paw and grasped a section of pole above his first. Leisurely he hoisted himself up the pole just like he did with the slippery path, hearing the pitched sound of claws scraping against metal each time he pushed himself up. 

At last he landed at the top of the pole and took one final leap up to the red roof, crouching at the edge with his tail hanging in the shape of a hook over the side. In just two bounds he made it to the peak of the roof in the very middle, and allowed his sight to spread across the landscape before him. The black valley beyond the playground looked even more massive from Cole's spot; he could see a small gray blob darting from place to place across the area. Cole's head swiveled to his right, where a larger orange form weaved in and out between poles and behind structures, his green eyes flashing back and forth and reflecting the moon's light.

Finally Cole turned a little past his left and directed his amber gaze to the moon. The bright thin claw still hung high in the sky above the black valley. Another sudden breeze emerged and small stars descended and circled around the brown tom before dipping and trailing to a small crack in the ground a little ways off from the playground. Just as quickly as it appeared, the starry breeze vaporized out of Cole's sight.

Cole carefully clambered down off the roof and back down to the tanbark. He allowed his pupils to expand as far as they could, waiting as they absorbed all the light available from around Cole. His eyes flicked around until he heard a soft voice call out to him.

_Cole._

He glanced around him, trying to pinpoint where the source of the voice was. "Hello?" he called unconsciously.

_**Cole.**_

The voice grew clearer. _Why does it sound so_ familiar _?_ Cole wondered.

_**Touch the Scythe.**_

"Who... who's there?" Cole asked again. He heard voices and the sound of paws pounding in his direction. "Where are you?"

_**Touch the Scythe, Cole.**_

The soothing voice seemed to trail down to a glowing spark at Cole's paws. He bent down to sniff at it, and as his nose came in contact with it everything went white.

"What is it this time?" Kai wondered aloud. He turned in the direction of Cole's yowls.

Jay was already way ahead of Kai. "Cole, what's going on?"

Kai grumbled under his breath as he picked his way out of the tanbark pit and followed Jay to where Cole stood. Or rather, crouched. His amber eyes were locked in an unblinking state, his pupils expanded over most of the surface, yet he was breathing steadily as if he was asleep. His nose was pressed to the ground, or so it seemed until Kai looked closer. There was a golden shard poking out of a crack in the ground, bright as the sun in broad daylight.

"Jay," Kai whispered. "Come look at this." As Jay walked around Cole, the green-eyed tom gestured with a jerk of his muzzle at the golden shard Cole's nose was pressed against.

"Whoa," Jay breathed, lowering his head to get a better look at it. "What is that thing?"

"I dunno," Kai responded, enraptured by the golden glow of the object. "But that is the coolest thing I have ever seen."

Cole blinked several times before finding himself in a bright valley. Short grass stretched out from under his paws to every direction. A lone tree stretched its old limbs up to the bright beacon in the pale blue sky. Small insects hovered around patches of tiny white flowers dotted here and there in the fresh green ocean. Wispy clouds drifted by overhead and flecked the sky with splotches of white fur. The air was fresh and misty, and the entire valley was immersed in warm, gentle sunlight.

"This is too good to be true," Cole breathed, speaking to no one in particular. "This is like..." His voice trailed off as he relished the warm feeling that spread both inside and out.

A flurry of stars appeared at the corner of Cole's vision and took the form of a lithe molly. Her pelt, although see-through, was easily seen as dark brown, and her long tail ended in a white tail-tip. She patiently and quietly padded over to Cole step by step, her movements smooth and fluent. Cole swiveled his head towards the starry cat and just about started crying.

**_Hello again, my love._**

Cole's paws trembled furiously as he rushed towards the form of his mother. But before he could reach her, a gigantic shadow dropped upon the valley and blocked out the light. Lilly disappeared from under the shadow, leaving Cole collapsing in the spot where she once stood.

The brown tom looked up and could make out the shape of giant, outstretched wings and a long, thick tail ending in a nearly spherical shape. His amber gaze flicked to the opposite side of the tail and noticed the sturdy neck that attached to a bulky reptilian head. A horrifying roar boomed in Cole's ears and resonated over the entire valley.

_Dragon._

Cole shrieked and ran in all directions, searching for cover from the gigantic beast looming overhead. Unfortunately for him, there was no cover in sight - other than the lone tree. His heart racing, he scrambled over to the tree in an impressive number of bounds. He leaped onto the trunk and over the branches, crashing back down to the ground on all four paws and ducking on the other side of the sturdy bark.

Cole panted profusely behind the trunk as the dragon swooped around and roared in the sky above. He willed himself to disappear into the ground and pleaded internally for the dream - no, the _nightmare_ \- to end.

Then Master Wu's voice spoke in the back of his head. _You must conquer your fears to gain the powers._ Cole gulped, practiced a few breathing exercises, and forced his paws and legs to stop trembling.

"Master Wu, don't fail me now," Cole whispered through gritted teeth, and took another deep breath before turning to the giant shadow overhead.

"H-hey, you! Yes, I'm t-talking about you, you - you oversized lizard!" Cole screamed, his voice a little more high-pitched than he intended. He shook his head and tried again. "Over h-here!"

Cole seemed to have caught the dragon's attention, and the beast swiveled its large head to face the earth-colored tom.

Cole gulped. "Oh boy," he muttered before the dragon roared and rocks flew in the cat's direction. He barely dodged them in time and frantically searched the landscape for something to combat the dragon from a distance.

Before Cole could move, the dragon let out another loud screech and spread its wings to their full length. It dived to the ground and right before it crashed, it swooped suddenly upwards and the club at the end of its tail collided with the ground. 

"Whoa!" Cole exclaimed as cracks appeared in the ground and the ground below him split. The earth shook violently and nearly threw Cole off balance, but not before Cole leaped to a different patch of ground and dug his claws in deep.

The massive dragon swooped back down with a screech and dove towards Cole. The cat's eyes darted to the left and located a patch of loose dirt. As the dragon's head came into better view, the silver spikes growing up its snout clearly visible, Cole swiped a paw at the dirt and knocked the loose sediments into the dragon's eyes.

The dragon screamed and rushed back into the sky, knocking Cole backwards with its tail as it retreated. Cole rolled backwards from the impact and crashed into a boulder, groaning as his back collided with the hard surface. His body slid to the floor and he shakily struggled back to his paws. 

Cole looked up at the dragon, which was hovering steadily over the ravaged valley, shaking the dirt out of its eyes. That had only bought him time; he'd have to find a different way to defeat it completely.

His right front paw suddenly quivered violently and Cole collapsed back on the floor. His eyes opened and closed rapidly and his vision began to blur. _I.. I can't... lose..._

The motivation to keep fighting brought the tom back to his paws again. He lightened the weight on his right paw, struggled his eyes back open, and inspected the dragon again. For the first time he noticed that one of the dragon's legs was clamped in something unnatural. He tilted his head at the roaring dragon and knew what to do.

As the dragon shook its head for the final time and aimed its golden gaze at Cole, it let out a loud roar and dove back towards the brown tom. This time, instead of looking in his surroundings for something to distract the dragon, Cole waited for the dragon to get close enough, his eyes locked on the giant reptile's snout.

The dragon came within ten pawsteps from Cole, and he leaped in a wide arc onto the dragon's snout, making sure to avoid the spikes that were mounted all over its face. Cole weaved between every spike that blocked his way as he landed and ran up the beast's head. The dragon seemed to know what was going on and growled, snapping its wings open and pulling up into the air.

Cole quickly grasped onto a spike on the dragon's back with both his forepaws as the dragon swooped upwards, taking all his willpower to ignore the pain in his right paw. The dragon then began to spin, causing Cole to start feeling dizzy; but he closed his eyes tightly and prayed to the First Master for the dragon to start coming back down to earth.

After a long while of spinning the dragon got tired of spinning and decided to stop flying completely. It fell backwards in midair and plummeted towards the ground. Cole's pelt began to press against the dragon's scales, realizing in a heartbeat what the dragon was doing. He gulped and slowly began to climb up the dragon's back, trying his best not to dig his claws into the dragon's thick hide so he wouldn't hurt it.

At last Cole found his way over the dragon's shoulder and hoisted himself upwards and nearly fell off the dragon again. His eyes locked on a large metal trap that had clamped the dragon's right front talon, and he inched his way steadily towards the trap.

He climbed up the dragon's talon and started banging his claws against the metal contraption, trying to find a weakness or a way to destroy it. The dragon seemed to have noticed that Cole was near its talon, and it immediately twisted around in midair and nearly threw the cat off again. It lowered and flew close to the ground towards the boulder where Cole lay before. Cole noticed where the dragon was headed, and inched back up the dragon's arm carefully until the boulder came in contact with the metal.

_Clang!_ The dragon screeched in pain as its forearm collided with the boulder, and it pulled back up into the air. Cole dangled from its arm for a while before regaining his balance and inspecting the trap even further. There were already many dents in the mass of metal, and yet it was still tightly attached to the talon. 

Then Cole noticed a few little poles and leather straps holding the trap together. Cole grimaced as he tore the tough leather straps away from the trap and let them drop. The trap was still firm as ever. Then Cole grasped one of the poles and tried moving it around until he slid it out sideways and a section of the trap fell apart and down towards the ground. The dragon noticed what Cole was doing and started descending towards the ground again. Cole took no notice and continued pulling poles out sideways until there was only one left.

He tried to slide the last one out and noticed that it was jammed by a dent in the trap. For the longest time he attempted to pull the rod out by force both ways, but it just wouldn't budge. Then he noticed that the dragon was diving towards the boulder again and yelped, attempting to scrabble up the dragon's arm again.

The dragon seemed to understand that Cole was going to get hit at the rate it was diving, and with its left talon it gently plucked the cat from its right arm and held him away from the ground at a safe distance. Cole started to panic before realizing that the dragon was keeping him safe.

With a loud _CLANG!_ the trap collided with the boulder and slid off the dragon's right talon. It landed cautiously onto the ground and gingerly placed Cole on the ground next to it. Fortunately, the talon that was formerly encased in metal wasn't hurt nor broken, and it held no scratches or wounds from the trap. It was still flimsy but it would regain its mobility and work properly again.

The dragon turned to Cole and its jaws widened in something similar to that of a smile. Its tongue lolled out and it behaved like that of a giant friendly dog, which scared Cole at first but gradually warmed him from ears to tail-tip. He took a step towards the dragon in relief before a wave of pain flashed through his paw and he collapsed to the floor. The beast stopped panting and sniffed Cole's paw before bounding off to the tree and plucking something off from it.

The dragon pounded back, shaking the ground as it came, chewing something in his mouth before spitting it all out onto Cole's right paw. The smell of dragon's breath made Cole reel back, but was quickly covered by the sweet smell of fragrant berry juice. Cole noticed that it was the poultice the dragon had spat onto Cole's paw, and managed to look up and throw the dragon a nervous grin.

"Maybe you're not so bad after all," Cole commented, and the dragon seemed to beam from snout to tail-tip. "Thank you."

_You should be thanking yourself,_ Lilly responded, her elegant form appearing from behind the dragon. **_She needed your help and you did just that. She's helping you in return._**

"M-mom?" Cole stuttered, unconsciously getting to his paws as he faced his mother. His right paw miraculously hurt no longer. "But - but I thought you died to dragons -"

The dark brown cat chuckled. _That was what you thought._ She affectionately licked her son's face. _Just because I died alongside dragons doesn't mean that I died to one. It was quite the opposite, actually._ Sorrow reflected in her blue gaze before it quickly disappeared and was replaced by pride. **_I'm glad you passed the test._**

"But wait -" Cole started, exasperation in his voice.

_Butts are for sitting,_ Lilly commented with the same humor in Wu's voice. (Which was none.) _You have bigger prey to catch, bigger enemies to defeat._

"But I just saw you again!" Cole cried. "Don't go! I miss you!"

_I miss you too._ Lilly looked at her son with a mixture of pride and longing. **_But I must go. The Destiny's Bounty needs me. And Ninjago needs you._**

She touched her nose to Cole's and her scent drifted away to the breeze.

_Go and make me proud,_ she whispered as Cole's form disappeared from the spirit world and returned to the real world. **_Strongest Stone._**

"COLE! THERE'S AN EARTHQUAKE! ARE YOU GOING TO WAKE UP OR WHAT?!?!?!" Jay screamed at the stiffly standing Cole, whose nose was still pressed to the golden shard.

It was true. Below their feet the ground was shaking violently. The sound of rattling metal originated from the playground, while wind seemed to fill their ears twice as much. There was _so much wind._ Kai's fur was flying in front of his eyes and he could hardly make out anything in front of him or below him.

"Cole, come ON!" Kai yelled, struggling forward and attempting to grab Cole by the scruff and pull him backwards. Instead he just fell forward and trembled along with the ground.

"Kai, are you going to get yourself killed?!" Jay screeched, darting over to Kai and pulling him up to his paws. "Cole isn't even anywhere close to being harmed, just look around him!"

Kai squinted at Cole and noticed that Jay was right. Again. The ground where Cole was standing was unaffected; his fur was unruffled by the sudden earthquake that was going on around him.

"Is that supposed to mean he's found Earth?" Kai yowled back at Jay over the noises.

"I think so!" Jay yowled back. It was clearly obvious to both of them that they were right next to each other, but their voices seemed rather far off.

Suddenly Cole jerked his head towards the shard and clenched his strong, sharp teeth on it. Slowly, he lifted his head, and the shard rose from the ground, revealing itself to not be a shard but in fact an entire weapon. A long, golden, patterned rod rose from the ground, and Cole shifted a little bit to the left. Attached to the rod was a long, curved golden blade. A dragon's head was molded on the thick part of the blade, breathing out what seemed to be chunks of earth and rock, trailing out to the tip of the blade.

Kai recognized it as a Syeth, a Tall-Leg tool used for slicing plants and vegetation. What the Tall-Legs needed to cut the plants for, Kai wasn't sure. But it definitely looked big and sharp enough to be a weapon they could use to battle monsters or other Tall-Legs - or worst of all, cats.

As soon as the Syeth was pulled out its golden color flowed into Cole's brown pelt and emanated a golden light onto his surroundings for a small while. When the light faded Cole's massive paws seemed to be absorbing the last bits and the gold faded from them last. All around them the earthquake gradually faded and the world settled to a peaceful quiet once more. The Syeth crumbled to dust and Cole gasped.

"Cole?" Kai and Jay called, rushing over to the brown tom, who was panting, his eyes clamped tightly closed. "What happened?"

"I... I feel... different," Cole panted after a long while. His eyes were still closed. "What... what happened?"

"An earthquake happened for like thirty seconds!" Jay exclaimed, bouncing up and down. "And then you pulled out a large blade and crumbled it to dust, and -"

"Wait... what?" Cole panted, and opened his eyes at last. There was a new light in them as he looked down at the ground where the "shard" once sat in the ground. "The Scythe's gone?"

"The _what?_ " Kai shouted, and Jay and Cole turned to Kai. "Isn't it called a Syeth?"

"My mothe- Earth... she told me... that it was... called a... Scythe..." Cole panted tiredly.

"Huh?" Kai sat down on his rear, tilting his head and trying to figure out what he missed when he first heard the object's name.

"Never... nevermind," Cole gasped, sitting down on his rear too. Jay looked around awkwardly and sat down where he was.

The three sat there, waiting for Cole to finish catching his breath and resting his eyes (they were wide open for a long time, Kai understood). Once Cole got back on his paws he looked ready.

"Alright, team..." Cole's firm (and stronger) amber gaze swept over first Jay then Kai, and nodded to each.

He grinned. "I'm ready. Let's head next to Lightning."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WOOHOO THAT TOOK WAY TOO LONG TO WRITE.
> 
> I guess it makes sense, since it's like 5,000-something words long.
> 
> But hey, it's worth it to get my point across!
> 
> Next chapter will be up after the next chapter of Fallen Star on Wattpad, that is for sure! (That gives you an idea of what the next one is going to be about, I'm sure haha.)
> 
> Now I need to go rest my tired fingers, so cya and stay safe!


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